Qin Sheng landed in the city that had caught his attention.
One location within the city was a noble estate, but it was now drenched in blood, with corpses strewn everywhere.
Qin Sheng entered a small courtyard and pushed open the door.
Beside the bed lay a dead middle-aged woman. One of her hands was stretched beneath the bed, while the other remained outside.
Qin Sheng moved the corpse aside and looked down.
A young girl was hiding beneath the bed. Her face was pale and streaked with tears, her eyes vacant. The woman's hand had covered her mouth, and she had been frightened so badly that she could no longer make a sound.
The noise Qin Sheng made caused her to curl up and tremble without stopping.
The girl's Soul Power was also Rank 20. Qin Sheng already had a guess about her identity.
"Zhang Lexuan?"
"Kill me... kill me..."
The girl muttered to herself, already broken.
Qin Sheng shook his head, knocked her unconscious first, then took her away.
Blazing Spirit City.
It was a moderately sized city jointly governed by the City Lord's Manor and the Soul Master family, the Luo Family.
Naturally, the Blazing Spirit Advanced Soul Master Academy founded by Qin Sheng's grandfather was also highly respected.
In truth, Soul Master academies were inherently very pure organizations. They cultivated and supplied talent for the continent, and every nation valued each advanced Soul Master academy. None would deliberately target or suppress them.
An institution like Shrek, an emperor above emperors and a nation within a nation, had been the sole exception throughout history.
Within Blazing Spirit Academy.
Qin Sheng sat with his father, Qin Ding, and his mother, Ning Huang'er, and told them what had happened to him.
"We encountered Evil Soul Masters. Grandpa sent me away and held them back alone. There has been no news of him since."
Qin Ding and Ning Huang'er looked grief-stricken and remained silent for a long time.
They both knew that his father could not have survived.
No one had expected that a Soul Douluo taking a Quasi Great Soul Master to obtain a Soul Ring would encounter such a disaster.
That was the era they lived in.
"There are Evil Soul Masters at the Soul Douluo level, and they were even moving in groups. Could Evil Soul Masters have an organization as well?"
"Xiao Sheng, don't be afraid, and don't blame yourself," Qin Ding comforted him.
"Your grandfather would be happy to see that you returned safely."
Sorrow and killing intent filled Qin Sheng's eyes as he said firmly,
"I will avenge Grandpa."
"What about that girl you brought back?" Ning Huang'er asked.
"Her entire family was slaughtered. I found her."
Qin Ding sighed. "She is a pitiful child too. Let her stay here."
"You still haven't attached your second Soul Ring. Once we have dealt with your grandfather's affairs, we'll take you to find one."
Qin Sheng nodded in agreement.
Qin Ding and Ning Huang'er hurried away. With Qin Sheng's grandfather gone, they had far too much to deal with.
In the room next door, Qin Sheng pushed open the door and entered. The girl suspected to be Zhang Lexuan had already awakened.
"This is Blazing Spirit City. You're safe now."
The girl hugged her knees on the bed and did not move at all.
Qin Sheng shook his head and said, "I'll have someone bring you food."
"Thank you."
A faint voice rang out. Qin Sheng heard it, but he still left the room.
This was not something an outsider could comfort away. She needed to slowly pull herself through it herself.
What the girl needed now was a quiet space, not someone's self-righteous attempts at consolation.
Qin Sheng found a place to continue studying the Spirit-Control Banner.
His first Soul Skill was called Mental Frenzy. It could send Mental Power into a frenzied state for a short time, increasing its destructive power while greatly strengthening resistance to all kinds of negative mental conditions.
Normally, a mental-type Soul Master's first Soul Skill would be a purely offensive ability. Douluo Qin Sheng had chosen this enhancement-type Soul Skill based on knowledge from his previous life.
Once he acquired offensive Soul Skills in the future, frenzied Mental Power would undoubtedly become even more powerful. This was an ability meant to be used in combination with other Soul Skills.
Unfortunately, he had not lived long enough to see his Soul Skill system take shape.
"I don't lack offensive methods, so when attaching Soul Skills in the future, I should focus on enhancement types or abilities with other special effects," Qin Sheng thought.
"I'll keep strengthening my foundation, then use martial arts or secret arts in battle."
This was an extremely radical method of attaching Soul Skills. No one besides Qin Sheng could play it this way.
His first Soul Ring lit up, and Mental Berserk activated. Qin Sheng carefully experienced the sensation.
"Most Soul Masters use Soul Skills by rigidly activating their Soul Rings. They don't understand the specific principles behind their Soul Skills."
"I wonder if I can manifest Soul Skills as secret arts, allowing my other selves in other worlds to use them as well?"
Some Soul Skills on the Douluo Continent were pathetic, such as making plants bind opponents...
But others were exceptionally impressive, such as Invincible Golden Body and Eternal Wound.
Invincibility, ignoring physical defense... What would they become if converted into universal secret arts?
At that thought, Qin Sheng's eyes gained a trace of interest. It was an intriguing question.
"This world has plenty of bizarre Soul Skills. There is much worth studying."
As always, Qin Sheng was now in a real world.
What he needed to do was not disdain it, but absorb as much nourishment as possible from this world and improve himself.
Even the Martial Arts World could benefit him, much less a fantasy world like Douluo.
The Martial Soul system possessed an endless variety of abilities. It was indeed excellent reference material.
"In the Shrouding the Heavens World, beginning at the Four Extremes Secret Realm, one must start coming into contact with the laws of heaven and earth and gain control over space. The gods of Douluo are the same. Though they are different worlds, if I become a god in this world, I can at least gain more insight into laws."
"The collision of systems from different worlds and the convergence of insights into the Great Dao are in themselves tremendous opportunities that others could never obtain even if they begged for them."
Qin Sheng repeatedly used Mental Berserk, deeply sensing the process by which the Soul Skill operated, and gradually gained his own understanding.
Mental Berserk stimulated Mental Power in a unique manner, dividing it into two parts and causing them to clash, ultimately erupting.
"It is easy enough to accomplish. After all, it is merely a hundred-year Soul Skill. Perhaps I can try increasing the age of the Soul Skill..."
If even the Skydream Ice Silkworm could do it, there was no reason Qin Sheng could not.
However, after careful consideration, Qin Sheng still chose to obtain Soul Rings from Soul Beasts.
He needed those unique Soul Skills as research subjects.
To Qin Sheng, this body on the Douluo Continent was more useful for research than combat. As long as it could provide a fixed increase in combat strength, that would be enough.
Before long, Qin Sheng had figured out the essence of his first Soul Skill. Even if he lost this Soul Ring in the future, it would not affect his ability to use Mental Berserk.
At the same time, Qin Sheng had this body begin cultivating the Yijin Jing internal art.
The three Qin Shengs in the Martial Arts World had now become martial arts myths, proficient in every kind of martial art.
Even the Mysterious Heaven Skill of the Western Shu Tang Sect could dominate the Douluo Continent. The Yijin Jing was practically an unparalleled divine art.
The girl also gradually calmed down and became capable of communicating.
She really was Zhang Lexuan.
After all, an eight-year-old at Rank 20 whose noble family had been exterminated was likely the only such case on the entire continent in the past century.
Qin Sheng felt somewhat moved. He had not expected to pick up such a genius.
If Huo Yuhao, that cheat, was excluded, Zhang Lexuan could even be called the greatest genius since Mu En.
She had advanced to Soul Douluo at the age of twenty-two or twenty-three. The Haotian Twin Stars from ten thousand years ago were not worth mentioning before her.
Zhang Lexuan's appearance also allowed Qin Sheng to confirm the timeline.
There were still three or four years until Huo Yuhao was born, and much longer until he entered Shrek.
With a shift in thought, Qin Sheng stopped paying attention to it.
He did not care about any Child of Destiny or savior of the continent.
"Zhang Lexuan."
Qin Sheng said, "Do you know who harmed your family?"
Zhang Lexuan fell silent. After a long while, she said softly,
"I don't know. Mother never told me about the family's affairs."
Qin Sheng nodded. Of course. How could an eight-year-old child know so much?
The original story said that the Zhang Family had been persecuted by a powerful noble of the Heaven Soul Empire. To be called a powerful noble and still dare to casually massacre other nobles, they had to be at least a marquis, right?
Once the scope was narrowed down, it would not be difficult to investigate.
"Stay at Blazing Spirit Academy and cultivate properly from now on. Your talent is excellent. In the future, you can avenge them with your own hands."
"Revenge... I don't know who I should seek revenge against, and I don't know whether I can do it." Zhang Lexuan was despondent.
"As long as you cultivate to become a Titled Douluo, uncovering the truth will be easy. Cultivate to become a Super Douluo, and revenge will be just as easy."
"You have Innate Stage full Soul Power, right? That is the best talent. You can do it."
"Yes, I have Innate Stage full Soul Power."
As Zhang Lexuan spoke, she summoned her Martial Soul. It was a moon.
"The moon. A very powerful Martial Soul." Qin Sheng looked at it several times. The essence of this Martial Soul was extraordinary.
That was only because this was the Douluo Continent. In other worlds, things related to the sun and Taiyin were hardly comparable to hammers or butterflies.
As for whether Zhang Lexuan's moon Martial Soul was related to the Sun-Moon Empire's imperial family?
Who cared?
"In a few days, I'll take you to attach your second Soul Ring. Rest well."
After saying that, Qin Sheng left.
Zhang Lexuan watched his retreating back, feeling deeply grateful.
This little brother was such a good person.
Qin Sheng had always acted very maturely, but he had overlooked one thing.
His current body was only eight years old, and he was even younger than Zhang Lexuan by a few months...
Five more days passed. Qin Ding and Ning Huang'er, both Soul Sages, personally set out with Qin Sheng and Zhang Lexuan to obtain Soul Rings.
Do not look at Shrek Academy's many Soul Douluo and Titled Douluo experts, or at its top inner-court disciples under twenty whose Soul Power was close to the Soul Sage level, and assume Soul Sages were common.
In reality, on the Douluo Continent, the upper ranks of most advanced Soul Master academies consisted only of Soul Sages. Among their students, even the most outstanding were merely Soul Ancestors.
Blazing Spirit Academy was such an ordinary academy.
"This time, we won't go to the Star Dou Great Forest. We'll go to the Radiant Forest instead."
Qin Ding and Ning Huang'er were extremely wary of Evil Soul Masters. They were unsure whether those four Evil Soul Masters were still in the Star Dou Forest.
"Xiao Sheng, Le Xuan, we will find the most suitable Soul Beasts for you." Ning Huang'er stroked Zhang Lexuan's head.
Qin Sheng nodded, though inwardly he was thinking of finding a nine-thousand-year Soul Beast for himself.
With the amplification of the Infinite Land, his physical constitution had already surpassed ordinary expectations for a Great Soul Master.
If not for wanting to experience the differences between hundred-year, thousand-year, and ten-thousand-year Soul Rings and Soul Skills in order to deepen his understanding of Soul Rings, he could have chosen a ten-thousand-year Soul Ring as his second.
Soul shock? It would be good enough if Qin Sheng did not shock those Soul Beasts instead.
A hundred-year first Soul Ring, a thousand-year second Soul Ring, a ten-thousand-year third Soul Ring, and a hundred-thousand-year fourth Soul Ring—this was Qin Sheng's plan.
One step at a time. It counted as a standard setup.
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